Jelly Donuts
by ReidAllAboutIt
Summary: Joey loves jelly donuts, Seto hates dessert. S/J. Sequel to Black Coffee, rated T for some language.
1. Chocolate Eclaire

It had been nearly three weeks now since the Kaiba Corp annual gala, and business at Cup 'O Joe was booming. Joey had been forced to hire two new staff members (well one really, he didn't think that Tristan actually counted) just to keep up. It was really amazing what a little exposure could do.

Joey was finally feeling the burn of 'adulting' (at least that's what Serenity called it), spending seven days a week at Cup 'O Joe, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings starting a business class at the community college, and liaising with Fai about the mural he was supposed to paint at Kaiba Corp. It was no wonder that he was beginning to feel burnt out. It also didn't help that he had barely heard from one Seto Kaiba save for a few sparse text messages since their emotional confession on the night of the gala.

Joey had to push down the immense frustration he felt each time he thought about the steely eyed brunet; he was under the impression that they had made major progress in their relationship, but was apparently sorely mistaken. Joey did not take kindly to be ghosted, but he also refused to beg for the CEO's attention. Kaiba knew how Joey felt. He knew where to find him. If he had changed his mind about the things he said to Joey three weeks ago, then Joey couldn't change that…although he very painfully wished he could understand what had happened. His mind turned over the events of that night over and over, the vicious cycle of feeling angry and abandoned, then sad and confused…inevitably transforming back into anger again, and so on.

Joey absent-mindedly squeezed a swirl of purple icing onto a plush white cupcake, not noticing that the swirls became sloppier and sloppier as his mind wandered.

"Hey boss," Kurogane's gruff voice cut through the thick fog in Joey's mind, "you, ahh, you have enough on that one I think." Kurogane glanced at the tray of cupcakes as Joey snapped out of his trance. He hadn't realized that he had transformed one of the cupcakes into a leaning tower of icing with three times the normal amount of topping.

"Aw, fuck…" Joey grumbled as he scooped the icing off with a spoon and started again.

Kurogane wandered closer, eyeing Joey up with that intense ruby stare. "I'll finish that, you should go home."

"Nah, I'm good, man. I'm just a little tired," Joey forced a smiled at the larger man, "gotta get these suckers done," he gestured to the cupcakes, with their sad, sloped icing tops.

"Yeah, well…you're not doing a very good job." Kurogane was tactless. "And you look like shit." Very tactless.

Joey frowned, surrendering the icing bag to his burly employee, knowing that he was right (and hating it). He leaned against the counter as Kurogane took over the cupcakes and surveyed his bustling shop.

Serenity was wiping off an empty table in the sitting area, talking animatedly to a couple of girls who were sitting in plush, mismatched chairs by the window. As much as she annoyed the crap out of him, her customer service skills were probably the best of any of his employees. She had an effortless way of chatting to people about mundane things; the weather, the newest episode of Game of Thrones, how delicious the chocolate éclairs were, the KC Gala…

Wait.

"Oh yeah, it was amazing. So many cool games coming out next year! My brother is like best friends with Seto Kaiba too," Serenity was telling the girls, "he comes here all the time."

"Oh, wow," one of the girls said, "Kaiba is so hot!" She and her friend giggled as Serenity nodded in agreement. She leaned in closer to say something quietly to the girls; all three of them glanced in Joey's direction and giggled even harder.

Joey stood up straight, blushing furiously, and suddenly rethinking his earlier musings that she was so good at cozying up to customers. Too good, apparently.

He scowled at her from across the room, but decided it was best to turn his attention elsewhere…he didn't really want to be thinking about Seto Kaiba right now.

Joey glanced over at the till where Sakura (his other new employee) was teaching Tristan how to use the very uncomplicated cash register. Joey liked Sakura a lot; she was a sweet young woman with short auburn hair and green eyes that sparkled with kindness. She had experience working in a café before – someplace called the Cat's Eye Café – so she already knew how to handle a cash float.

"Right, and then you punch in whatever cash they give you…yes very good…ok, now hit the 'change due' button….no the change…ok, perfect!" Sakura was patiently guiding Tristan through a pretend transaction, "Great! And if it were a card instead of cash, you basically do the same thing with the card reader," she said calmly, pointing at the small machine next to the cash register.

"Oh right! Thanks, Sakura! I just can't seem to remember the steps," Tristan tapped his forehead lightly with the palm of his hand and gave her the 'gosh I'm a dummy, but aren't I just so cute?' look.

Joey rolled his eyes. He knew all of Tristan's lame pick-up techniques (they had perfected them together in high school), but was glad to see that Sakura wasn't falling for it. She smiled politely at him, but as he turned back to the register, he caught the faintest glimmer of frustration cross her emerald eyes (she had already gone through this process with him twice yesterday). Joey slid over towards the register as Sakura left to check on one of the ovens that was currently baking kaiser rolls.

"Do you have to hit on every woman you see?" he asked flatly as Tristan pretended to be enthralled with his new knowledge of the cash register.

"I don't know what you mean, Joseph," Tristan replied without looking up.

"Just don't go starting shit, ok? Serenity and Sakura get along really well and I don't need you trying to get into everyone's pants and starting drama, got it?" Joey warned, keeping his voice low so that Sakura couldn't overhear as she moved the kaiser rolls onto a tray to cool.

"Joey. Joey, Joey, Joey," Tristan finally looked up at the blonde, an annoyingly demure expression on his face, "I would never try anything with your sister," he placed a hand on his chest, as if his feelings were hurt at the accusation, "never, ever."

Joey's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at his friend, no words were needed as his expression clearly read, 'who the fuck do you think you're fooling'.

Tristan cleared his throat, eager to change the subject.

"Are you staying past close again tonight? You look like shit," Tristan said lightly as though he were commenting on how nice the weather was that day.

"Yeah, so I've heard," Joey sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, attempting to ease away the headache that was festering behind his eyes. "I don't know. I really have to look at the books tonight," Joey's said sourly. Making sure that all of his money was in the right place was the worst part of having his own business. Joey was not a numbers man and looking over old receipts and invoices just gave him anxiety.

"Why don't you go work on it right now so you can leave at a normal time?" Tristan slapped Joey on the shoulder, "I think we can handle things here without you, really." he nodded sagely, "I'm basically an expert at the register now. Kurogane is the cupcake king over there, Ren is talking care of your customers, and Sakura is finishing up the buns. We've got this. Go…Joey, seriously, scram."

Joey nodded slowly. Tristan definitely had a point. His cozy shop had never been so thickly staffed, and as long as Kurogane was there, he wasn't worried. He would trust the surly black-haired man with anything; he was basically the assistant manager.

"Alright," Joey caved, "I'll be in the back room. Come get me if anything goes fucky. And leave Sakura alone!" He shot Tristan one last warning glance as he grabbed all the transaction books and a folder full of invoices.

The back room was not exactly cozy. It was small and windowless and tended to be a bit warmer than the rest of the café. There was a rickety old table and two mismatched wooden chairs set awkwardly amongst boxes of ingredients and a large, ugly freezer. The lighting was terrible and it smelled a bit damp, but at least it was quiet.

Joey spread papers on the table in front of him and pulled out a calculator and a pencil and set to work.

He wasn't sure how long he actually managed to work before he fell asleep.

* * *

He was at home in his bed. It was familiar and safe and he knew immediately that he wasn't alone. His body was flush against another, warm and enveloping. The light from his bedroom window fell on them, casting a warm golden glow of early morning sunshine across their resting bodies. He could feel arms wrapped around him, feel warm breath moving the hair that fell across his face. It was peaceful and blissful and _right_. He tilted his head to look blearily up at the body cuddled so close to him.

"Kaiba…" he muttered.

Suddenly he was aware of how hot he was, and as he looked up, he was confused by the golden hair that flowed around him and the chocolate brown eyes that met his own.

Joey, the playful golden retriever, the dog who stole his name, stared back. His mouth was open wide, his tongue lolling stupidly over his teeth. The dog licked his face over and over, covering Joey in drool. As he licked and licked, his mouth opened wider, revealing white jagged teeth that seemed somehow sharper than before…. there was blood in his mouth. Was that Joey's blood? He touched his face, wondering why his skin was gone…

"JOEY!"

* * *

Serenity's voice jolted Joey from his dream.

He sat up, wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth as he tried to regain his composure.

"Hmm…wha?" he managed to mutter, rubbing his eyes with his palms, "What's up?"

"Someone is here to see you," Serenity smiled, a bit too coyly.

"Who is it?" Joey asked, suddenly feeling much more awake.

Serenity shrugged and smiled, trying to be cute (annoying was the word that came to Joey's mind).

"Well I can't, I'm busy," he gestured pathetically to the pile of drool stained papers on the table in front of him.

"Oh my God, Joe, just come out! He came here to see you!" she rolled her eyes as she turned around to return to the rest of the store.

Joey's heart was beating fast now. He wasn't sure he was ready to see Kaiba now. He wouldn't know what to say to him.

He got slowly to his feet, took a deep breath, and walked out to meet the stupid bastard. If he had the gall to show up at Joey's work after not speaking to him for three weeks, he had another thing coming.

"Listen, you don't get special treatment just because you-" the words fell from Joey's lips as his eyes fell upon his visitor.

"Yugi!"

Yugi smiled so brightly at Joey, he thought he might go blind. He rushed forward and scooped his friend into one of Joey's famous bear hugs.

"I can't believe you're here!" he tried (and failed) to keep the emotion out of his voice as he buried his face in his friend's spikey hair.

The two friends stood, embracing in the middle of the bustling shop for several minutes. Patrons stepped awkwardly around them or stared disapprovingly, but Joey didn't care. Yugi was here. As far as Joey was concerned, in that moment, they were the only two people on earth.


	2. Tiramisu

AN: Hey all...I've been a very bad author here . I'm sorry! I swear my plan is to write out the rest of the story so it is done and you won't have to wait like a year for the next installment... Thanks for reading!

* * *

Kaiba sat at his desk, staring into his computer screen. The sun was setting behind him, the orange glow casting an annoying glare across the spreadsheet he was attempting to read. He furrowed his brows and leaned closer, trying to block the glare with his shadow.

The aftermath of the gala had been far more stressful than he had predicted. Normally, he would have buyers and partners clawing down his door to get their names attached to his products, but it didn't seem to be the case. Now he had meetings and disappointed phone calls from long-time partners, worrying about the longevity of KaibaCorp's newest batch of games. More and more, the calculated voices on the other end of the phone would ask to speak to Mokuba. Now his ideas, they were fresh! They had potential.

The horrid, awful truth floated around in Kaiba's head. The thing he always feared. His games were becoming obsolete. No one cared about duel monsters anymore. Holographic dueling systems weren't exciting enough. The people wanted more. The buyers wanted more. The partners wanted everything. They all wanted Mokuba…

Joey huffed in his sleep, a paw kicking out as he dreamed of chasing a squirrel or running through a muddy garden. Kaiba looked down at where the dog slept by his feet, wishing he could only be so carefree. Life must be so peaceful when your only worry was chasing your own tail.

Kaiba's mind wandered to the other Joey in his life as he spun his chair around to look out the window behind him. The orange-golden glow stained the clouds pink and a crescent moon was becoming more and more visible as the light faded. Kaiba still needed to squint as he looked over the city scape below, the sunset burning into his eyes.

He had meant to call or text Joey, he really had. But then some dark creature decided to settle into the pit of his stomach and the darkest corners of his mind, reminding him of his impending failure each time he tried. The creature would claw at his chest and whisper while he slept. Relationships are deadly, it would tell him. Allowing himself to get too close could be dangerous, especially when his business was so fragile. Joey couldn't possibly be interested in him anyways. He was cold, cruel Kaiba. Obsolete. Fading.

He spun back around in his chair to face his computer screen once more. If he thought too hard about it, the despair might consume him. He had worked his whole life for the power he held, and to feel it crumbling around him was terrifying. Kaiba had never felt so vulnerable.

There was a knock at the door, waking Joey from his nap. He let out a half-hearted "boof", his tail thumping slowly against the floor.

"Seto?" Mokuba slid quietly into the office, concern etched across his face, "Ready to go?"

Kaiba leaned forward, resting his forehead in his palm, letting his hair fall across his eyes so Mokuba couldn't see the despair welling up inside him, "In a minute," he responded, his tone kept carefully cool and even.

He knew Mokuba could see right through him. He hated that.

"You gotta stop beating yourself up over this. Your games are good-"

"YOUR games a good," Kaiba correctly sharply. "You should be proud of your work. It's not your fault that I can't keep up with you," he added an incredibly forced smile. It must look pathetic.

"Seto…Come on…" Mokuba pleaded, not used to seeing such a spark of jealousy directed at him.

Kaiba exhaled, forcing the envious beast in his chest to calm itself, "I'm sorry. Yes, let's go, I'm ready. Come on, Joey."

He nudged the dog with his foot. The dopey retriever lumbered to his feet, his tail fanning from side to side, totally immune to the dark cloud permeating the office.

* * *

Joey stared across one of has shabby, mismatched tables at Yugi, who was rambling merrily about his most recent expedition. They each had a steaming mug of hot tea nestled in front of them. All the lights in the café were off, save for one small light illuminating the stoves behind the counter. It cast a warm yellow glow like a campfire, the soft light illuminating Yugi's boyish, animated face as he spoke.

Joey was smiling stupidly, laughing at every joke and nodding along. He admired Yugi so much, it was like being star struck every time they got a chance to be together these days…or like a kid in total awe of his big brother. He couldn't really describe it. Yugi was like the other half of him, and he forgot how good it felt to be whole.

"Fuck, man," Joey leaned back, his face hurting from grinning, "I missed you, Yug'."

Yugi smiled so sweetly, so genuinely, 'I missed you too, Joey! I always miss you."

"You don't have to leave again, right? Like, not any time soon?"

Yugi's smile turned a little melancholy, "Well, not too soon. But I'm going on another dig with Professor Hawkins after Christmas. We're going to South Africa this time."

"Oh man…that's so cool. You're so cool!" Joey threw up his hands in defeat, totally blown away by the epic adventures Yugi got to look forward to. All Joey got to look forward to, day after day, was deciding which kind of baked good he should make Kurogane put pink frosting on.

Yugi chuckled warmly, "You're cool too, Joey. Hey, Tea told me you've made friends with an old enemy. You must be cool to get Kaiba to like you."

Joey groaned. Of course Tea spilled the beans first.

"Did you really think it wouldn't come up? That's big news to just ignore," Yugi sipped his tea, his tone a little too coy.

"It's not that big of a deal. I catered his fancy Kaiba Party and we hung out a few times…"

"And you made him phallic cookies and slept over," Yugi stated, as though he had been there.

"Last time I tell Tea anything," Joey muttered, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. He looked away from Yugi, trying to disguise his embarrassment as annoyance.

"It's okay to want to be friends with him. Despite whatever Tristan tells you," Yugi said kindly. "He's always been a bit of a loner. He could use a friend like you. I think you could really help him."

Joey scoffed, "Kaiba doesn't need my help. He's always been able to take care of himself."

Yugi seemed to consider this carefully before he spoke, "Yes…but I think everyone needs to be shown some kindness and patience now and again, even Kaiba."

"What do you mean?" Joey asked accusingly, not liking where this was going. Yugi's smile was just a tad too knowing, like he was inside Joey's mind, browsing through his thoughts.

"Well, think about it. Kaiba has spent his whole life looking after his brother. He climbed to the top of the corporate ladder when he was a teenager. He's been a kid in an adult's world for most of his life. Don't you think that's a lot of pressure for one person?" Yugi asked earnestly.

"Well, sure...but what do I-"

"Can you imagine how special it must feel, to finally have a friend who cares about him and his well being? And not his brother or his company or his money?" Yugi pressed.

"Hey, I tried to care, you know? I went to the stupid party, I agreed to do the damn mural…and the guy hasn't even had the balls to send me a text or anything," Joey didn't mean to sound so aggravated, but he couldn't stop the hurt from surfacing in his voice, "I wanted to keep hanging out, but he fucking ghosted me!"

Yugi smiled, shaking his head, "Joey. You aren't the kind of person to just let someone slip through your fingers. The Joey I know would fight for what he wanted. And if you want to be in Kaiba's life, I know you'll fight for him too."

Joey looked down at the mug in front of him, not saying anything.

"Well?" Yugi pressed, "Do you want to be in his life? Or are you just giving up?"

A long moment of silence stretched between them.

"I'm sorry, Yugi," Joey finally said, standing up and collecting the tea mugs, "we're going to have to finish this conversation tomorrow."

Yugi looked confused for a moment.

"I have some dick cookies to make."


End file.
